PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after he was struck by a Norfolk Southern train in Washington County.

Washington County 911 tells KDKA-TV the man was hit at Fifth and McKean Street behind the Rite-Aid in Charleroi at about 3:30 p.m.

He was flown to Allegheny General Hospital.

There is no word on the his condition.

Rudy Husband, a spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, says the train had 120 empty coal hoppers and was headed back to a mine.

The train did not derail.

Police say the man standing near the edge of the tracks when he was clipped by the train and thrown about 25 feet down the tracks.

The man, believed to be in his 20’s, was putting pennies on the tracks as the train approached.  He put down some pennies and ran over to put more down and didn’t get far enough off the tracks when the accident happened.

KDKA’s David Highfield asked Charleroi Police Officer William Gardner if the engineer saw the man near the tracks.

“He wasn’t on the tracks.  They watched him run up to the tracks – to the side of the track,” Gardner said.  “If your tracks are 5-feet wide, I don’t know if people assume that’s how wide the train is, but you’re looking at probably 10-feet wide for a train.”

The train crossing has reopened.

Stay with KDKA for the latest developments.

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